By Muhammad Ammar Shafiq Hamzah
LANGKAWI (Kedah, Malaysia) March 26 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The Malaysian government aims to generate up to RM16 billion in revenue from the aerospace industry this year, said its International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking.
This would be driven by the vibrant and thriving aerospace industry in the Asia-Pacific region, which is expected to have the highest growth in new aircraft delivery for the next decade, he said.
“We would like to see a larger revenue this year (compared with RM14.4 billion last year).
“(To achieve this,) the government is looking to have a better coordination between the National Aerospace Industry Coordinating Office and other agencies in focusing to provide a better business environment for the industry,” he told reporters after a presentation on the aerospace and shipbuilding and ship repair industries’ 2018 performance here Tuesday.
The event was held on the sidelines of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA), which runs from Tuesday till March 30.
The minister said the industry had managed to maintain its positive growth since the Malaysian Aerospace Industry Blueprint 2030 was implemented in 2015.
“The aerospace manufacturing sub-sector remained the main contributor to the industry’s revenue at 48 per cent and it recorded the highest value of RM6.97 billion, an increase of 8.3 per cent compared with 2017.
“The maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) sub-sector recorded RM6.68 billion, representing 46 per cent of the total revenue,” he said.
He noted that aerospace exports also recorded the highest value of RM8.48 billion last year compared to previous years. with an increase of 20.7 per cent from 2017.
“In terms of investments, 11 aerospace projects with total investments of RM816.3 million were approved in 2018, of which 41 per cent were foreign investments,” he said.
— BERNAMA
